The best news of all, though, is that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is primed with options. The game can be played locally or online with up to four players, which will no doubt be the meat of the experience for many players. But a single-player, campaign has also been promised, one that will satisfy solo gamers while supplementing everyone else's experience. It's not only about online or only about single-player, but rather a combination of both. In other words: the best of both worlds.

The game features a number of cool game modes for both single and multiplayer, with a focus on online play which features a robust tournament mode. Players will be able to compete against each other as well as play cooperatively. We can’t wait for you all to try it for yourself.

Until then, please stay tuned; there are plenty more features, characters, and levels we want to show. And you definitely don’t want to miss what we’ve got in store for E3!

2 game modes revealed and played so far which are shown in the videos now
One mode where there is a set amount of lives that the player has, and will be out of the match if he runs out of it, another is a time based mode where the winner is the one who has dealt the most amount of KOs but there is no KO counter shown on the screen

Parappa the Rapper has strength at close range, where he can use his Chop Chop Master Onion-learned kung-fu stylings on his opponents. Colonel Radec on the other hand, is almost entirely ineffective unless at a distance, relying on a plethora of Helghan firearms and pieces of technology from afar. Sweet Tooth's considerable strength complements his brutal fighting style
Kratos' skill with his arsenal of weapons is obvious. Sly Cooper's agility shines through almost immediately, and he has a special skill that no other character has. He forfeits his ability to block -- something every other character can do -- instead going invisible when the L1 button is held down. This allows him to sneakily slink around and get the jump on other characters. Fat Princess, on the other hand, relies on her deceptive, innocent look to get in close and cause the brunt of her damage. She can even summon forth minions such as the sword-wielding warrior or the fire-throwing wizard from her self-titled game to briefly supplement her attacks.

the R1 button lets players pick up items (such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance) in the environment to use on enemies.

Drop item through the R1 button

Items like rocket launchers and the Spear of Destiny from God of War will occasionally drop onto the battlefield, and they can be used to reduce the super meter of opponents. AP orbs can be granted by certain moves, such as Parappa's Boxy Boy boombox ability.

One stage, Dreamscape, looks like it came straight out of LittleBigPlanet, complete with stage creation pop-up menus in the background, randomly selecting platform pieces for you and your opponents to overcome. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the screens in the back of the stage become a backdrop for a Buzz! quiz show, with Buzz coming out to ask random trivia questions. In one fight we were asked, "Which Sony handheld was released in 2011." The text from the four multiple choice answers fly over each fighter, and it seems you're supposed to attack the correct answer. It's strange, but it works, and makes for some really wacky fights.

The other three stages we saw were just as fun. The Hades stage starts out looking just like God of War, but the background transitions to feature scenes and characters from Patapon, cute cheering and song included.

Another stage called Metropolis is straight out of Ratchet and Clank at first, with its moving platforms and conveyer belts, but then rain starts to pour, and a huge hydra pops up from the back to attack fighters.

My favorite stage mixes a Jak and Daxter village with Hot Shots Golf. From nowhere, with no notice, Hot Shots characters begin using the play field as a driving range, with ultra-hot golf balls raining down on you and your opponents like missiles.

Dreamscape feels different than the other stages, as it's set in the level editor of LittleBigPlanet. You see Pop-It bubbles and creation elements spring up throughout the fight, which creates different platforms to battle on. Keeping with the hybrid stage theme, it eventually turns into an impromptu game of Buzz! Quiz. A Playstation-related question appears on the screen, and the fighters have to stand on the platform that corresponds with the correct answer to avoid taking damage.

Character Glow

Visual indicator for Supers being ready

Super Attacks

Each character 3 different super attack levels, each progressively takes longer to gain but becomes stronger, for example Level 1 is good for a single opponent, Level 3 for multiple opponents

Third Party Characters

3rd party characters are confirmed and should be revealed in the coming months or in E3

Super Attack Strategy

Once you’ve reach level 1, 2, or 3, you’re free to unleash the super, but as game director Oman Kendall explained, a well-timed level 1 super can be just as effective as a level 3 if used smartly, suggesting that timing can often be more important than sheer power level. Based on the matches I played, this absolutely ended up being the case (I think my 5-0 record more than proved that). So while turning Sweettooth into a towering, machine gun-armed Mechatooth or riding around on a giant chicken as Fat Princess can be highly deadly, so too can PaRappa’s skateboarding attack, because it all depends on who happens to be in your immediate area at the time you trigger the super, adding a great level of strategy to the chaotic action.

After several matches I came away pretty excited about All-Stars. Smash rip-off? Who cares! It's so fun that I'm not even drawing the connection anymore. It's so easy to get in and get wrapped up that I found that a string of fights takes place before you know it. Even with only six characters and four stages I'm sure I could have played all night if permitted. The characters are are an obvious draw, and with their fantastic control you want to keep playing them. The mashed-up stages are also a riot, and are all eye candy to boot. If they get the balance down pat and add the right characters, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will be a smashing success. I'm sure they can pull it off, as the foundation has already been laid for a great fighting game.

Gameinformer

There's no denying where the inspiration for Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale comes from, but I had fun during my time with it. Sony's characters may not fit the colorful, family-friendly mold of Nintendo's creations, but their differences make for some entertaining and varied attacks and play styles. While plenty of roster reveals are inevitable before Battle Royale is released, I can't help but wonder if it'll compare to the variety in Nintendo's fighter. That said, we wouldn't be surprised to see big names like Nathan Drake, Sackboy, Jak, and Ratchet join the fray (Crash Bandicoot is likely excluded thanks to the fact that he isn't Sony-exclusive anymore). It's far from a novel idea, but All-Stars Battle Royale made for a fast-paced and fun four-player experience in my time with it.

IGN

After playing the game, speaking to the president of the studio and then playing the game some more, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is no longer a game I'm profoundly skeptical of, but one of my most-anticipated upcoming projects. There's no reason to be coy about its inspiration -- Super Smash Bros. undeniably paved the way for it -- but no reason exists to dismiss it as a clone, either. After all, it's not very often that a clone gives its inspiration a serious run for its money. And from what I've seen and played of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, it seems ready to do just that.

jstevenson

The camera is what makes it seem so familiar, I don't think the actual play isn't similar to Smash's main scoring tenants (ie, knocking people off the sides of the level, damage making you fly farther, etc).

Sure it's looks similar, but from what I have played, it's definitely its own unique play-style.

Hey Darkwing, any reliable source out there confirming non-super kills? Digitaltrends did an impressions piece and firmly stated there were non-super KOs, but everyone else is saying otherwise. I can deal with the super only meter but I definitely want non-super KOs as well, I think Superbot could at least come half-way and make both sides of the fighter community happy (those who want something new and those who want some balance, or a bit of both).

Hey Darkwing, any reliable source out there confirming non-super kills? Digitaltrends did an impressions piece and firmly stated there were non-super KOs, but everyone else is saying otherwise. I can deal with the super only meter but I definitely want non-super KOs as well, I think Superbot could at least come half-way and make both sides of the fighter community happy (those who want something new and those who want some balance, or a bit of both).

I haven't found any info about that non-super KOs, the only thing I can refer is there would be different modes coming including an online tournament mode as we have only been shown 2 modes basically the time and stock based lives

I'd rather have a SotC stage where you're fighting on a colossus, and scaling him down that much would lessen the impact of it. I think Wander having a colossus super is most likely, but they could also have an Ico team.

Well yeah, a stage on the back of one of the flying colossi is a given. Superbot's screwed up if that doesn't happen.

But as far as a character goes, I feel like Team ICO is significant enough to get a playable character, but neither of their player characters would make very good fighting game characters. Neither seem to be very skilled combatants; Ico beats back enemies by wildly swinging a stick around, and Wander doesn't seem much more skilled with his sword. Wander's bow and horse could perhaps be implemented into his moves, but that still leaves a lot to be desired. Wander and Ico are both intentionally pretty powerless, because the games want the player to feel like everything is kind of a struggle. I just don't see how Wander or Ico could be turned into fighting game characters without kinda betraying what defines those characters.

"Perhaps others had a different experience, but all the other journos in attendance I spoke with had the same impression that the game revolved around special attacks. Although maybe that was just the strategy that worked for me specifically.

I played six matches in a row, using a different character each time. My strategy was to build up my special attack as quickly as possible and unleash it. In each of the six rounds I finished either first or second, and I may have died only one or two times in all six matches by a non-special attack. Likewise, all of my kills with the exception of one or two came from special attacks.

The issue may be the health bar--or lack thereof. Without one, it makes attacking feel more random than a traditional fighting game.

All that being said, its important to note that this was an early build, and it was also a lot of fun to play. I stand by the assertion that it is balanced too far in the direction of the special attacks, and that seemed to be the consensus, but maybe other strategies are also valid.

I look forward to trying the next build and passing on my impressions--probably at E3."

"Perhaps others had a different experience, but all the other journos in attendance I spoke with had the same impression that the game revolved around special attacks. Although maybe that was just the strategy that worked for me specifically.

I played six matches in a row, using a different character each time. My strategy was to build up my special attack as quickly as possible and unleash it. In each of the six rounds I finished either first or second, and I may have died only one or two times in all six matches by a non-special attack. Likewise, all of my kills with the exception of one or two came from special attacks.

The issue may be the health bar--or lack thereof. Without one, it makes attacking feel more random than a traditional fighting game.

All that being said, its important to note that this was an early build, and it was also a lot of fun to play. I stand by the assertion that it is balanced too far in the direction of the special attacks, and that seemed to be the consensus, but maybe other strategies are also valid.

I look forward to trying the next build and passing on my impressions--probably at E3."

6 first-party characters from each era, 1 for each handheld, and the 4 most influential third-party characters. A good mix of playstyles, art styles, and popular vs. obscure.

Blasto and Rau Utu could easily be replaced by better suggestions, though. I mainly included them because this list is otherwise pretty lacking in heavies. I'm sure someone could make some good arguments for characters in games I've never played. Sony has a number of RPGs like Wild Arms and Legend of Dragoon that I don't really know anything about, for example.

*On Shadow of the Colossus: I don't think Wander would make a very good character. There are 6 other sword wielders on this list, and there's not anything unique about the way he wields his sword. And besides, what's the draw of SotC? It's not the kid with the sword. It's the giant hulking behemoths.

So I think a better character to represent SotC would be Valus, the first colossus you meet, the one on the box. Scale him down to be playable, of course, but still dwarfing the other characters; think Hulk from MvC. On top of being a more unique representative of SotC, you get a character to fill out the big, slow powerhouse archetype that's not really otherwise represented in this roster.

That's probably the best proposed list I've seen so far. I think I like the idea of making a Colossus playable, but at the same time part of me doesn't want to see a Colossus scaled down to a playable size. Interesting idea though. I'd still like to see Wander and or Yorda as playable. Wander isn't an extremely skilled warrior, but I think his sloppy fighting style could make for an interesting move set if they got a little creative. Also, I imagine they could probably come up with some magic type moves for Yorda, making her most similar to Zelda from Smash Bros.

Okay, so like everyone else I had heard about this game, but I haven't been kept up to date on my video game news as of late. I've only seen a couple of previews, but holy shit, does this game look awesome. I hope people don't take this the wrong way, but it looks like Super Smash Bros. but with some key differences and Sony characters, which sounds absolutely amazing to me.

My only key request is that they have a ton of unlockable stuff. I bet there are people who don't like that, but I've always loved that about SSB series. I've loved just accidentally running into a fight with a secret character, or collecting all those trophies, it was all just super fun and addictive.

So what's the consensus so far? I've only seen major site previews, so I'm not sure what the word on the street is like, if you will. How do you all feel about what you've seen so far?

Now I'm wondering if there will be an option to toggle supers off or to lower the amount AP orbs give you, to increase the length of battles and make it more tactical. I've been super excited for this game ever since it was leaked/rumored so. I'm really anxious to see how varied the cast will be and how different each character plays from one another. I hate having clones in a fighter.

That's probably the best proposed list I've seen so far. I think I like the idea of making a Colossus playable, but at the same time part of me doesn't want to see a Colossus scaled down to a playable size. Interesting idea though. I'd still like to see Wander and or Yorda as playable. Wander isn't an extremely skilled warrior, but I think his sloppy fighting style could make for an interesting move set if they got a little creative. Also, I imagine they could probably come up with some magic type moves for Yorda, making her most similar to Zelda from Smash Bros.

Yeah, that might work.

I'm sure the final game will prove me wrong and Wander or Ico and Yorda will get in there and they'll find a way to make them make sense. I just can't see how right now. And after someone pointed out a couple pages back that Sony's lineup is kinda lacking in heavies, I felt like this could be a good fit. I also feel like it's a similar situation to Radec, or Pikachu in Smash, where the character you actually play as in the game they're representing isn't as iconic or memorable as some other character or creature.

I also think that the more methodical approach to playing a big, lumbering heavy would better translate the feeling of a Team ICO game than a quick sword wielder or a magic user.

Originally Posted by I should be doing hw

I don't see how he would offer any variation in attacks, let alone 3 separate Super attacks on top of that.

Well, he's a giant humanoid character with a club. Just look at other big heavies in fighting games. Hulk, Zangief, Astaroth, Ganondorf, characters like that. He could swing his club in a variety of different ways, he could slam the ground to make a quake that stuns and damages anyone on the ground nearby, he could slam the ground and make debris fall from the sky, he could have a command grab as heavies tend to.

For supers, he could summon other colossi. Level 1, he could summon Celosia, who would dash forward a short distance and then disappear. Level 2, he could summon Kumori, Pelagia, or Basaran to fire projectiles at opponents. Level 3, he could either summon an even larger colossus to throw out a devastating attack, or he could transform, go all Giga Bowser, grow to the size of Sweet Tooth's mech for a bit.

Man many of the detractors sure have some bullshit reasons for hating the game "it feels like a nintendo game not a sony game" . It is perfectly fine to not like a game but dont use bullshit reasons like this.

Man many of the detractors sure have some bullshit reasons for hating the game "it feels like a nintendo game not a sony game" . It is perfectly fine to not like a game but dont use bullshit reasons like this.

What are you talking about? Who are you talking to?

Do you have anything to say about this game other than complaining about what angry Nintendo fans are saying about it?

Do you have anything to say about this game other than complaining about what angry Nintendo fans are saying about it?

You see there are some good legit criticisms (graphics, art, combat, ect) but a majority of the hate are in bullshit reasons like this that come from people that probably wont get the game in the first place ( not necessarily Nintendo fanboys.) And I really hate it when someone gives a bullshit reason for not liking a game (Nintendo games are only for kids, Only dumb casual dudbros like Call of Duty, ect)

How many 3rd party characters do you think there are there going to be? I would guess maybe 2 or 3. It's a trade-off for them since they have to balance the licensing costs of those characters vs how much more sales they think they can get by adding each 3rd party character in to the game. With Sony characters, there is no extra cost.

Would you guys still buy the game if there were no 3rd party characters?

Do people seriously want Blasto in this game? That's basically a Lair situation. One of those games that i'm sure Sony would rather forget.

At least not in their very first all star game. I thought I knew some playstation characters, but I still had to google Blasto. He seems to be popular for being voiced by Phil Hartman and he's sadly long gone, so I don't really see the point other than being obscure.

Originally Posted by prwxv3

You see there are some good legit criticisms (graphics, art, combat, ect) but a majority of the hate are in bullshit reasons like this that come from people that probably wont get the game in the first place ( not necessarily Nintendo fanboys.) And I really hate it when someone gives a bullshit reason for not liking a game (Nintendo games are only for kids, Only dumb casual dudbros like Call of Duty, ect)

You should stop trying so hard to be indignant, it'll make you feel better. No one is doing that in this forum anymore; that should be enough.

At least not in their very first all star game. I thought I knew some playstation characters, but I still had to google Blasto. He seems to be popular for being voiced by Phil Hartman and he's sadly long gone, so I don't really see the point other than being obscure.

It was originally intended to be Sony's answer to Mario 64. Crash was always about linear paths while Blato was open. It ended up being a complete mess of a game. Luckily they had Spyro to wash it away. It wasn't as good as Mario 64, but it was still a good 3D platformer with open levels.

At least not in their very first all star game. I thought I knew some playstation characters, but I still had to google Blasto. He seems to be popular for being voiced by Phil Hartman and he's sadly long gone, so I don't really see the point other than being obscure.

You should stop trying so hard to be indignant, it'll make you feel better. No one is doing that in this forum anymore; that should be enough.

I'm trying to get clarification from other sources to see if the supers are just one method of KOing, I'm not trying to discredit digital trends, I just want to see if other outlets were able to confirm that or not.

I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but this quote from the new Penny-Arcade just made me laugh so damned hard.

Can we agree that The Fat Princess from Fat Princess does not represent top-chef roster selection?
There is a rad quote in the official video that talks about goes into how they managed to “capture her love of cake,” which, I mean, thank God.

I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but this quote from the new Penny-Arcade just made me laugh so damned hard.

Seeing fat princess in the game and seeing her skillset for the game has gotten me so fucking hyped for this. I fucking loved fat princess, I will always choose her, and always feed her cake when she hungry :)